Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives

European Parliament and Council; amended by the Commission · European Union

Which additives may be used in the European Union, in which foods, and at what level. It also sets the general conditions of use, the carry-over principle and the labelling duties that attach to particular additives.

Northern Ireland applies this regulation under the Windsor Framework, which is why this site records Great Britain rather than the United Kingdom.

How it is arranged

  • Annex II — the Union list of additives approved for use in food, with conditions of use, arranged by food category in Part E and by additive group in Parts C and D.
  • Annex III — additives approved for use in other additives, in enzymes, in flavourings and in nutrients.
  • Annex V — the six colours whose presence obliges a statement on the label.
  • Articles 18 to 25 — carry-over, the labelling of additives sold as such, and the labelling of foods containing them.

What this site takes from it

Annex II as permissions, by food category, with levels and conditions; Annex III as secondary uses; Annex V as labelling rules; the additive names in all 23 official languages.

And what it does not

The general conditions of use in Articles 6 to 12, which are read rather than tabulated, and the flavourings and enzymes covered by their own regulations.

Provenance

  • eu EU food additives (Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008) — European Commission. CC BY 4.0; retrieved 2026-10-18.
  • eu-names EU additive names in 23 official languages (consolidated 02008R1333-20260818 and 02012R0231-20260818) — European Union (EUR-Lex). CC BY 4.0; retrieved 2026-09-19.
  • euspecs EU food additive specifications and Annex III (consolidated 02012R0231-20260818 and 02008R1333-20260818) — European Union (EUR-Lex). CC BY 4.0; retrieved 2026-10-18.

Recorded on Sources, generated from the provenance table so it cannot drift from what the site holds.

Read the instrument. Where a page here disagrees with it, the instrument is right and this site is wrong — check the retrieval date first.

Also for European Union: Regulation 231/2012, Regulation 1169/2011.